The Uist Hedgehog Rescue (UHR) coalition is celebrating the relocation over one thousand hedgehogs from the Uists and their release into new territories on the mainland. The coalition has been relocating hedgehogs from the Outer Hebridean islands every year since 2003 and has already relocated over a hundred hedgehogs since they came out of hibernation this spring.
The animals are being removed from the islands as they eat the eggs of internationally important populations of ground nesting wading birds. Prior to 2007, UHR rescued hedgehogs which would otherwise have been culled. Since 2007, UHR has been working with the Uist Wader Project (UWP) 2, which is handing over all the hedgehogs it catches to be taken to Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue Trust on the mainland and then released into suitable sites in Scotland. This spring UWP is catching hedgehogs from mid-March until end-May and catching may continue in the autumn.
UHR is entirely self-funding and currently receives no financial support from the Government although it has made clear to Scottish National Heritage and the Scottish Government that it cannot continue to provide a free relocation service indefinitely.
The Uist Hedgehog Rescue announcing their landmark victory.
